Book Description
Against All Hope is Armando Valladares' account of over twenty years in Fidel Castro's tropical gulag. Arrested in 1960 for being philosophically and religiously opposed to communism, Valladares was not released until 1982, by which time he had become one of the world's most celebrated "prisoners of conscience." Interned all those years at the infamous Isla de Pinos prison (from whose windows he watched the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion), Valladares suffered endless days of violence, putrid food and squalid living conditions, while listening to Castro's firing squads eliminating "counter revolutionaries" in the courtyard below his cell. Valladares survived by prayer and by writing poetry whose publication in Europe brought his case to the attention of international figures such as French President Francois Mitterand and to human rights organizations whose constant pressure on the Castro regime finally led to his release.


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish


From the Publisher
When Against All Hope first appeared, it was immediately compared to Darkness at Noon and other classic prison narratives about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of totalitarianism. Now, with a new introduction by the author, which tells of his life since prison and brings the story of Cuban dissidence up to the case of Elian Gonzalez, Against All Hope is more relevant than ever.


About the Author
Armando Valladares was a political prisoner in Castro's Cuba for twenty-two years. After international pressure led to his release, he came to the United States and served as Ambassador to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations during the Reagan and Bush administrations. He spent many years in Madrid and now lives with his family in Miami.

SYNOPSIS

Against All Hope is Armando Valladares' account of over twenty years in Fidel Castro's tropical gulag. Arrested in 1960 for being philosophically and religiously opposed to communism, Valladares was not released until 1982, by which time he had become one of the world's most celebrated "prisoners of conscience." Interned all those years at the infamous Isla de Pinos prison (from whose windows he watched the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion), Valladares suffered endless days of violence, putrid food and squalid living conditions, while listening to Castro's firing squads eliminating "counter revolutionaries" in the courtyard below his cell. Valladares survived by prayer and by writing poetry whose publication in Europe brought his case to the attention of international figures such as French President Francois Mitterand and to human rights organizations whose constant pressure on the Castro regime finally led to his release.

When Against All Hope first appeared, it was immediately compared to Darkness at Noon and other classic prison narratives about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of totalitarianism. Now, with a new introduction by the author, which tells of his life since prison and brings the story of Cuban dissidence up to the case of Elian Gonzalez, Against All Hope is more relevant than ever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Armando Valladares was a political prisoner in Castro's Cuba for twenty-two years. After international pressure led to his release, he came to the United States and served as Ambassador to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations during the Reagan and Bush administrations. He spent many years in Madrid and now lives with his family in Miami.

FROM THE CRITICS

Internet Book Watch

In 1960, Armando Valladares was arrested in Cuba for being opposed to communism on philosophical and religious grounds. He was kept in the Isla de Pinos prison. His imprisonment was hallmarked by violence, putrid food, squalid living conditions, and the psychological torture of listening to Castro's firing squads eliminating "counter revolutionaries" in the courtyard below his cell. Valladares retained his sanity by prayer and the writing of poetry. It was the publication of his poetry in Europe and America which brought his condition to such international figures as French President Francois Mitterand and numerous human rights organizations. It was the constant pressure of such individuals and international organizations upon the Castro regime that finally led to Valladares release in 1982. Against All Hope is a testament of the endurance of the human spirit in the face of totalitarianism and inhumanity. The 426 pages of text are enhanced with photographs. This new Encounter books edition of a classic prison narrative had been out of print for fifteen years and is a welcome addition to political science, Latin American, and human rights studies, prison literature reading lists, and autobiography collections.

Time

Valladares' book is an event of considerable cultural and political significance: the most detailed and irrefutable description yet published of the suffering engendered in Cuba by Communism and Fidel Castro.

Ronald Radosh

What Mr. Valladares gives us is a picture of the hell that was the Cuba he lived in, and the story of how one man's deep Christian faith enabled him to sustain the most evil treatment and never abandon hope, no matter how fruitless hope appeared.—The New York Times Book Review

Wall Street Journal

Mr. Valladares offers a record of dearly bought knowledge that no one can afford to overlook.

Los Angeles Times